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D.J. Short

Baseball Daily Dose

Daily Dose: Fallen Angel

The Giants brought back Angel Pagan on a four-year, $40 million contract after he batted .288/.338/.440 with 61 extra-base hits (including eight home runs) and 29 stolen bases in 154 games last season, but there's a chance that his 2013 campaign could already be over.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced Monday that Pagan will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a torn hamstring tendon behind his left knee. The 31-year-old is expected to miss up to 12 weeks, which essentially takes him out of action until around mid-September. There's always the chance that they could just shut him down until 2014.

Pagan injured his hamstring on May 25, the same day he delivered a game-winning inside-the-park home run against the Rockies. He opted against surgery initially, but suffered a setback during his first rehab game with High-A San Jose last Thursday and had to be carted off the field.

With such a lengthy and uncertain timetable following surgery, there's no reason to keep Pagan rostered in redraft leagues. Gregor Blanco will now get an extended chance as the regular leadoff man and center fielder, so he remains relevant in NL-only and deeper mixed formats.

It was hard to blame those fantasy owners who left Jeremy Hellickson inactive for Monday's start against the red-hot Blue Jays, but he ended up turning in an unexpected gem.

Hellickson allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings as part of a 4-1 victory at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, ending Toronto's winning streak at 11 games. The 26-year-old struck out four and walked four for his sixth win of the season.

Hellickson outpitched advanced metrics like xFIP and SIERA in 2011 and 2012, but he hasn't been nearly as fortunate this season, posting an ugly 5.11 ERA across 16 starts. On the bright side, he currently has a career-high strikeout rate and a career-low walk rate. This might not be a bad time to buy low if he's still sitting on your waiver wire.

Davis Turning Things Around?

Ike Davis was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas earlier this month after batting just .161/.242/.258 with five home runs and 66 strikeouts over his first 207 plate appearances, but it might not be long before he's back in the big leagues.

Davis is hitting .333 (15-for-45) with a 11/13 K/BB ratio over his first 13 games in the minors. On the strength of back-to-back two-homer games last week, he earned Pacific Coast League Player of the Week honors. He went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and a walk during his most recent game on Monday. Granted, Davis has been playing in an extremely hitter-friendly environment, but this is encouraging to see given how lost he looked before being sent down.

While there was some speculation that Davis would be recalled after Lucas Duda's intercostal injury, the Mets would like to see him get some more at-bats in the minors first. And that's probably the right move, as 13 games are a tiny sample and the Mets are hoping he'll be fixed mechanically when he comes back up. Davis has understandably been dropped in many mixed fantasy leagues, but he makes for a smart stash in deeper mixed leagues. If he can get his power stroke back, he could make a major impact during the second half.

National League Quick Hits:Bryce Harper (knee) is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment Tuesday with High-A Potomac … Matt Kemp (hamstring) played in another rehab game with Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday and is slated to be reevaluated Tuesday … Yasiel Puig hit his seventh home run and delivered a go-ahead RBI single in Monday's win over the Giants ... Pablo Sandoval (foot) went 2-for-4 in his return from the disabled list Monday ... Jonathan Papelbon blew a save Monday for the fourth time in his past five chances ... Ryan Howard was out of the starting lineup Monday due to renewed soreness in his left knee … Jedd Gyorko (groin) is slated to go out on a brief rehab assignment with High-A Lake Elsinore, but could be activated from the disabled list this weekend … Jayson Werth (groin) hopes to be in the starting lineup Tuesday … Kyle Blanks went 4-for-5 with three RBI -- including a walk-off RBI single -- in Monday's extra-inning win over the Phillies ... The Padres are hopeful that Yonder Alonso (hand) will start baseball activities by next week … Mike Adams could require surgery to repair a labrum injury … Roy Halladay played catch Monday for the first time since shoulder surgery … Chad Gaudin (elbow) is not expected to make his next scheduled start Tuesday against the Dodgers … The Nationals are expected to call up right-hander Taylor Jordan from Double-A Harrisburg to replace Dan Haren (shoulder) in the starting rotation …

American League Quick Hits: The Blue Jays will activate Jose Reyes (ankle) from the disabled list Wednesday … Indians manager Terry Francona indicated Monday that Asdrubal Cabrera (quad) is close to being activated from the disabled list … Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Monday that Brett Lawrie (ankle) is likely a couple of weeks away from a rehab assignment … Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Monday that Mark Teixeira is still experiencing pain in his right wrist … Michael Brantley tied a career-high with four RBI in Monday's win over the Orioles … Orioles pitching prospect Dylan Bundy (elbow, forearm) had a setback Monday while throwing from a distance of 120 feet and is scheduled to be re-evaluated Tuesday … Shane Victorino (back) will not require a stint on the disabled list … Chris Perez (shoulder) is expected to make another minor league rehab appearance Tuesday with Class A Mahoning Valley … Wil Myers hit a long blast to center field Monday at Tropicana Field for his second major league home run … Alex Rodriguez (hip) is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment on July 1 … Brandon Morrow (forearm) has yet to resumed throwing … Nolan Reimold (hamstring) will remain on his rehab assignment with Double-A Bowie … The Orioles optioned Freddy Garcia to Triple-A Norfolk while recalling Kevin Gausman, who is a candidate to start Friday against the Yankees … Franklin Morales (shoulder, pectoral) is expected to be placed on the disabled list ...

The Giants brought back Angel Pagan on a four-year, $40 million contract after he batted .288/.338/.440 with 61 extra-base hits (including eight home runs) and 29 stolen bases in 154 games last season, but there's a chance that his 2013 campaign could already be over.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced Monday that Pagan will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair a torn hamstring tendon behind his left knee. The 31-year-old is expected to miss up to 12 weeks, which essentially takes him out of action until around mid-September. There's always the chance that they could just shut him down until 2014.

Pagan injured his hamstring on May 25, the same day he delivered a game-winning inside-the-park home run against the Rockies. He opted against surgery initially, but suffered a setback during his first rehab game with High-A San Jose last Thursday and had to be carted off the field.

With such a lengthy and uncertain timetable following surgery, there's no reason to keep Pagan rostered in redraft leagues. Gregor Blanco will now get an extended chance as the regular leadoff man and center fielder, so he remains relevant in NL-only and deeper mixed formats.

It was hard to blame those fantasy owners who left Jeremy Hellickson inactive for Monday's start against the red-hot Blue Jays, but he ended up turning in an unexpected gem.

Hellickson allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings as part of a 4-1 victory at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, ending Toronto's winning streak at 11 games. The 26-year-old struck out four and walked four for his sixth win of the season.

Hellickson outpitched advanced metrics like xFIP and SIERA in 2011 and 2012, but he hasn't been nearly as fortunate this season, posting an ugly 5.11 ERA across 16 starts. On the bright side, he currently has a career-high strikeout rate and a career-low walk rate. This might not be a bad time to buy low if he's still sitting on your waiver wire.

Davis Turning Things Around?

Ike Davis was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas earlier this month after batting just .161/.242/.258 with five home runs and 66 strikeouts over his first 207 plate appearances, but it might not be long before he's back in the big leagues.

Davis is hitting .333 (15-for-45) with a 11/13 K/BB ratio over his first 13 games in the minors. On the strength of back-to-back two-homer games last week, he earned Pacific Coast League Player of the Week honors. He went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and a walk during his most recent game on Monday. Granted, Davis has been playing in an extremely hitter-friendly environment, but this is encouraging to see given how lost he looked before being sent down.

While there was some speculation that Davis would be recalled after Lucas Duda's intercostal injury, the Mets would like to see him get some more at-bats in the minors first. And that's probably the right move, as 13 games are a tiny sample and the Mets are hoping he'll be fixed mechanically when he comes back up. Davis has understandably been dropped in many mixed fantasy leagues, but he makes for a smart stash in deeper mixed leagues. If he can get his power stroke back, he could make a major impact during the second half.

National League Quick Hits:Bryce Harper (knee) is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment Tuesday with High-A Potomac … Matt Kemp (hamstring) played in another rehab game with Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday and is slated to be reevaluated Tuesday … Yasiel Puig hit his seventh home run and delivered a go-ahead RBI single in Monday's win over the Giants ... Pablo Sandoval (foot) went 2-for-4 in his return from the disabled list Monday ... Jonathan Papelbon blew a save Monday for the fourth time in his past five chances ... Ryan Howard was out of the starting lineup Monday due to renewed soreness in his left knee … Jedd Gyorko (groin) is slated to go out on a brief rehab assignment with High-A Lake Elsinore, but could be activated from the disabled list this weekend … Jayson Werth (groin) hopes to be in the starting lineup Tuesday … Kyle Blanks went 4-for-5 with three RBI -- including a walk-off RBI single -- in Monday's extra-inning win over the Phillies ... The Padres are hopeful that Yonder Alonso (hand) will start baseball activities by next week … Mike Adams could require surgery to repair a labrum injury … Roy Halladay played catch Monday for the first time since shoulder surgery … Chad Gaudin (elbow) is not expected to make his next scheduled start Tuesday against the Dodgers … The Nationals are expected to call up right-hander Taylor Jordan from Double-A Harrisburg to replace Dan Haren (shoulder) in the starting rotation …

American League Quick Hits: The Blue Jays will activate Jose Reyes (ankle) from the disabled list Wednesday … Indians manager Terry Francona indicated Monday that Asdrubal Cabrera (quad) is close to being activated from the disabled list … Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Monday that Brett Lawrie (ankle) is likely a couple of weeks away from a rehab assignment … Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Monday that Mark Teixeira is still experiencing pain in his right wrist … Michael Brantley tied a career-high with four RBI in Monday's win over the Orioles … Orioles pitching prospect Dylan Bundy (elbow, forearm) had a setback Monday while throwing from a distance of 120 feet and is scheduled to be re-evaluated Tuesday … Shane Victorino (back) will not require a stint on the disabled list … Chris Perez (shoulder) is expected to make another minor league rehab appearance Tuesday with Class A Mahoning Valley … Wil Myers hit a long blast to center field Monday at Tropicana Field for his second major league home run … Alex Rodriguez (hip) is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment on July 1 … Brandon Morrow (forearm) has yet to resumed throwing … Nolan Reimold (hamstring) will remain on his rehab assignment with Double-A Bowie … The Orioles optioned Freddy Garcia to Triple-A Norfolk while recalling Kevin Gausman, who is a candidate to start Friday against the Yankees … Franklin Morales (shoulder, pectoral) is expected to be placed on the disabled list ...